How to succeed at your summer internship

If you are fortunate enough to have acquired an internship over the summer, you are well on your way to figuring out what you want to do with your life, or, at the very least, have a better idea than a person who has no internship experience. However, there are a multitude of things you can do to make your internship that much more successful. The first and often overlooked way is to simply do research. Look into the corporate culture of the company you intend to intern at and learn what will be appropriate dress and behavior for the duration of the internship. Furthermore, when undertaking an internship position, understand exactly what the time commitment is and what you will be doing, as different companies have various expectations and, as important as an internship is, it still needs to fit in with your schedule.

Another good practice to get into while at an internship is to write down everything you do and to be specific. Write about the software you work with, the presentations you witness and anything else you experience, as this can be used to update your resume. “Even if it’s not in people’s major, it’s great to keep a detailed list [of activities] so you can choose the best examples to show potential future employers,” Tina MacKenzie, the assistant director of internships at Elizabethtown College said.

However, the most important thing to do while at an internship is to take full advantage of the opportunity. While working at an internship you will have many chances to interact with functional experts at their place of work, and this is your chance to not only see what they do in person, but also to learn how they got that position. After all, people enjoy talking about themselves, and the stories they tell may inspire you to reevaluate your future. Ultimately, though, the real value of an internship is what you put into it, and the more you immerse yourself in that world the better you can grasp the reality of the job, whether you like it or not.

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